Frameless cooling module

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger adapted to be coupled with a platform is disclosed. The heat exchanger comprises two or more core units having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of each core unit being fixed to the platform. The heat exchanger further includes a plate disposed along the upper surface of the core units, the plate having a plurality of bend enhancement regions and a plurality of holes, each bend enhancement region being placed at a predetermined distance from the nearest adjacent holes, and a plurality of spacers interposed between the plate and the upper surface to couple the plate to the upper surface, the plurality of spacers adapted to provide offset between the plate from the core units. During operation of the heat exchanger, each bend enhancement region is configured to facilitate flexibility of the plate to accommodate any uneven expansion of the core units.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers and more specifically,to an assembly of heat exchangers.

BACKGROUND

Heat exchangers are utilized across various machines for exchangingheat. The heat exchangers include multiple tubes having an outlet port,and an inlet port. The heat exchangers include fins on the outer surfaceof the tubes. As fluid flows through the tubes, the heat is dissipatedaway into ambient air with the help of fins.

Due to prolonged heat dissipation, cores of the heat exchangers exhibitthermal expansion/contraction in all directions. Currently, the heatexchangers are mounted within a rigid framed structure. The framedstructure utilizes various types of isolators that are able to compressto account for the thermal expansion/contraction of the cores. However,the framed structure is expensive due to cost of frames and theisolators. Moreover, frameless designs are also known for mounting thecores of the heat exchangers. The frameless designs are cheaper, butuneven rates of expansion of the cores reduces overall thermal life.Further, there are also challenges in controlling uneven expansion ofthe cores. Therefore, there is a need for packaging or assembly of suchframeless heat exchangers to accommodate the uneven expansion of thecores.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,603 (hereinafter referred to as '603) discloses adouble heat exchanger. The double heat exchanger includes a multi-coreradiator which consists of a condenser and a radiator for heatdissipation. Further, a connecting member is provided with a slit and awavy shaped flexible member, As the condenser and the radiator begin toheat, expansion and contraction of the flexible member allows thethermal expansion within the frame, However, '603 reference fails toprovide a cheaper and easily fabricable solution for controlling unevenexpansion of the core units. Therefore, there is a need for a costeffective plate to accommodate uneven expansion of the core units of theheat exchangers.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a heat exchanger adapted to becoupled with a platform is disclosed. The heat exchanger comprises twoor more core units having an upper surface and a lower surface, thelower surface of each core unit being fixed to the platform. The heatexchanger further includes a plate disposed along the upper surface ofthe core units, the plate having a plurality of bend enhancement regionsand a plurality of holes, each bend enhancement region being placed at apredetermined distance from the nearest adjacent holes, and a pluralityof spacers interposed between the plate and the upper surface to couplethe plate to the upper surface, the plurality of spacers adapted toprovide offset between the plate from the core units. During operationof the heat exchanger, each bend enhancement region is configured tofacilitate flexibility of the plate to accommodate any uneven expansionof the two or more core units.

Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger having east two coreunits and a plate mounted on an upper surface of the at least two coreunits, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the plate of FIG. 1, in accordance withthe concepts of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the plate of FIG. 1, in accordance with theconcepts of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1 with the platemounted on the upper surface of the core units in a first configuration,in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 1 with the platemounted on the upper surface of the core units in a secondconfiguration, in accordance with the concepts of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a heat exchanger 10 is shown without specificreference to one or more outlet ports and one or more inlet ports forcoolant, and a plurality of fins coupled to outer surface of a pluralityof tubes. The heat exchanger 10 can include one or more cores 28, 30and/or 32 forming a core assembly 20, and a plate 12 disposed along anupper surface 22 of the core assembly 20 and a platform 26 disposedalong a lower surface 24 of the core assembly 20. In some embodiments,the plate 12 may be disposed along the lower surface 24 and the platform26 may be disposed along the upper surface 22. The plate 12 may bedisposed offset at a distance from the upper surface 22 to define aspacing therebetween. To facilitate maintaining the spacing or offsetdistance, a plurality of spacers 16 (also can be called bosses) can beinterposed between a second surface 38 of the plate 12 and the uppersurface 22. A plurality of fasteners 14 can be used to couple the plate12 to the core assembly 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the fasteners 14 can beintegrated with the locations of the spacers 16, so that the fastener 14is extended through a hole formed into the plate 12, is extended througha corresponding spacer 16, and terminated into the core assembly 20. Theplate 12 may also include a plurality of bend enhancement regions 18, aswill be discussed.

The terms “core” and “core unit” have similar meaning andinterpretations and may be interchangeably used with the descriptionwithout departing from the meaning and scope of the disclosure. The coreassembly 20 may include one or more cores, such, for example, shown: afirst core 28 (also called a first core unit), a second core 30 (alsocalled a second core unit) and a third core 32 (also called a third coreunit). In an embodiment, the core assembly 20 may include oil coolingcore, turbo compressed air core, engine coolant core, among others andother components, such as inlets, outlets, fins (not shown in FIG. 1).It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the heat exchanger 10may have any other configuration or have more number of cores withoutdeparting from the meaning and scope of the disclosure.

The lower surface 24 of the core assembly 20 can be coupled to theplatform 26. In one example, the platform 26 is fixedly secured to thelower surface 24 of the core assembly 20 or lower surface 24 of each ofthe cores 28, 30 or 32. The platform 26 is utilized for mounting onto amachine, a vehicle frame or any other implement which requires the heatexchanger 10. The spacers 16 are provided for preventing interferencebetween the plate 12 and the core assembly 20. During thermal expansion,the spacers 16 are adapted to provide offset between the core assembly20 and the plate 12. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe spacers 16 may be of different shapes, configuration and material,but not limited to steel, stainless steel, iron, copper, among others.The spacers 16 may be separate components or may be a part of the coreassembly 20 without departing from the meaning and scope of thedisclosure. The spacers 16 are inboard on the first core 28, the secondcore 30, and the third core 32 to reduce the overall stiffness of theplate 12. As a result, thermal stress is reduced as the first core 28,the second core 30, the third core 32 expand or contract. For thepurpose of simplicity various other components of the heat exchanger 10are not labeled in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the plate 12 can have a plurality of holes 34formed therein. The plate 12 includes a first surface 36, the secondsurface 38, a first edge 40, a second edge 42, a third edge 44 and afourth edge 46. The plate 12 may have a predetermined width W defined asthe distance between the first and second edges 40, 42, a predeterminedthickness T defined as the distance between the first and the secondsurfaces 36, 38, and a predetermined length L defined as the distancebetween the third and fourth edges 44, 46. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art that the predetermined width W, the predeterminedthickness T, and the predetermined length L are defined as per thedesign requirements and may also he varied without departing from themeaning and scope of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bend enhancement regions 18 are positioned at apredetermined distance ‘D’ from holes 34 that are the nearest adjacentthereto, generally each along a line X-X′. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art that the predetermined distance D is defined as perthe design requirements (shown in FIG. 1) and may also be varied withoutdeparting from the meaning and scope of the disclosure. The plate 12 isconstructed from materials that include, but is not limit to, steel,stainless steel, copper, among others. The bend enhancement regions 18is defined as a region within the plate 12 at which a portion ofmaterial is removed or added to facilitate relative movement or flexingalong the line X-X′ along with the region is formed at a predeterminedlocation. This predetermined location for flexing of the plate 12 isgenerally located to overlap the outer boundary of the core unit, i.e.the first core 28, the second core 30 and/or the third core 32. In someexamples, the predetermined location can he positioned along the lateralspace or boundary between adjacent core units so as not to overlap theouter boundary of the core unit, i.e. the first core 28, the second core30 and/or the third core 32. The bend enhancement region 18 facilitatesin modifying the surface area of the plate 12 and adding flexibilityaround the line X-X′, that typically extends between the first andsecond edges 40, 42 or along the third and fourth edges 44, 46. In anembodiment, the bend enhancement region 18 has a predetermined shape inform of a series of scallops or ovalic shapes removed from the plate, inother examples, this region can be perforated or material removed havingrounded, rectangular or other shapes. It will he apparent to one skilledin the art that the bend enhancement regions 18 may have any othersuitable shape, depth variation, and patterns around the plate 12 thatallows flexibility to the plate 12 without departing from the meaningand scope of the disclosure. The holes 34 are adapted to receive thefasteners 14 (as shown in FIG. 1) for attaching the plate 12 to the coreassembly 20 (as shown in FIG. 1). It will be apparent to one skilled inthe art that the fasteners 14 may be other kind of fasteners, such asbolts, screws, among others without departing from the meaning and scopeof the disclosure. Also the fasteners 14 may be constructed of materialsincludes, but not limited to, steel, stainless steel, iron, copper,among others.

Referring to FIG. 3, the plate 12 is mounted on the first core 28, thesecond core 30, and the third core 32 via the fasteners 14. The plate 12is mounted on the upper surface 22 (as shown in FIG. 1) of the firstcore 28, the second core 30 and the third core 32.

Referring to FIG. 4, the plate 12 is mounted on the first core 28, thesecond core 30 and the third core 32 a first configuration. In the firstconfiguration, the first core 28, and the third core 32 are in a coldstate, while the second core 30 is in a hot state. During operations,prolonged thermal exposure causes the second core 30 to expand. Duringexpansion of the second core 30, the plate 12 bends or flexes around theline X-X′ of the bend enhancement regions 18. The bend enhancementregions 18 (not shown in FIG. 4) are at the predetermined distance Dfrom the spacers 16 or the fasteners 14.

Referring to FIG. 5, the plate 12 is mounted on the first core 28, thesecond core 30 and the third core 32 in a second configuration. In thesecond configuration, the first core 28, and the third core 32 are in ahot state, while the second core 30 is in a cold state. Duringoperations, prolonged thermal exposure causes the first core 28 and thethird core 32 to expand. During expansion of the first core 28 and thethird core 32, the plate 12 bends around the line X-X′ of the bendenhancement regions 18. The bend enhancement regions 18 (not shown inFIG. 5) are at the predetermined distance D from the number of spacers16 or the fasteners 14.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Currently, there are challenges for controlling uneven thermal expansionof the core assembly 20 of the heat exchanger 10 having various coresfor oil cooling, turbo compressed air cooling, engine coolant core,among others and other components for an engine. During operation of theheat exchanger 10, the plate 12 having the bend enhancement regions 18that offer flexibility to the plate 12 to accommodate any unevenexpansion of the first core 28, the second core 30 and the third core32. The plate 12 is made from a sheet metal that is manufactured easilyand mounted within any frameless configuration without requiring acomplete dismantling of the core assembly 20. As a result, themaintenance cost and machine down time is reduced. The plate 12 is lightweight, and easily fabricable.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in an exemplary embodiment, if the firstcore 28 and the third core 32 are expanded more with respect to thesecond core 30, then the plate 12 flexes as per the expansion rates ofthe first core 28 and the third core 32, The flexibility is obtained bybending the plates at the line X-X′. During expansion or contraction,the bend enhancement regions 18 are subjected to a tensile load alongthe first edge 40, which causes a deformation in the shape of the bendenhancement regions 18 while providing the bend along the line X-X′ inthe plate 12.

While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may becontemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems andmethods without departing from the spirit and scope of what isdisclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within thescope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims andany equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat exchanger adapted to be coupled with aplatform, the heat exchanger comprising: two or more core units havingan upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of each coreunit being fixed to the platform; a plate disposed along the uppersurface of the core units, the plate having a plurality of bendenhancement regions and a plurality of holes, each bend enhancementregion being placed at a predetermined distance from the nearestadjacent holes; and a plurality of spacers interposed between the plateand the upper surface to couple the plate to the upper surface, theplurality of spacers adapted to provide offset between the plate fromthe core units; wherein, during operation of the heat exchanger, eachbend enhancement region is configured to facilitate flexibility of theplate to accommodate any uneven expansion of the two or more core units.